War of the Spanish Succession

The War of the Spanish Succession was a world war fought on battlegrounds in both Europe and The Americas, as well as naval battles fought in intercontinental waters. The war sprouted out of the Flanders War of 1700 between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Provinces, with the pretext of France's claims to the Spanish throne. In the end, Felipe V of Spain, France's candidate, became the king of Spain.

Grand Alliance
Western Europe was brought to a fragile peace in 1698 when the Grand Alliance of Austria, Great Britain, the United Provinces, and small German states agreed to leave France on laurels of no gain except for military victories. France was bankrupt, and Louis XIV of France mustered troops to defend France's borders while the French government recuperated from economic decline. Europe prepared for another war, while in India the Maratha Confederacy and Mughal Empire continued their Deccan Wars. France made enemies with the Grand Alliance once more when Carlos II of Spain died, and France backed Philip of Orleans' claim to the throne. Philip's claims to the throne were backed by Bourbons, but the Habsburg Austrians revived their claims; Carlos was a member of the German Habsburg family, as was his father and grandfather. This caused controversy across Europe as a dynastic dispute would lead to two great alliances of nations following two bloodlines fighting each other.

First Shots
Many thought that the Russian Empire would declare war on Sweden and cause a war in the east that would involve all of Europe, but it was the Dutch, whose banking policies rapidly replenished their economy, who struck first. They had coveted the Spanish Netherlands, which had at one point encompassed all of the Low Countries, but since the Dutch rebellions of the 1500s and 1600s, it was confined to Belgium and Luxembourg. The Dutch laid siege to Brussels, starting the Flanders War. Hendrik of Nassau-Ouwerkirk assaulted the city, killing Governor Felix Gallas and occupying the Spanish Netherlands.

France was hostile with the United Provinces ever since the Dutchman William of Orange took over Great Britain from their ally James II of Britain. They attempted to gain Flanders through a diplomatic offensive, but the Dutch refused to hand over their recently conquered possessions. Camille d'Hostun, commanding the northernmost French army, mobilized, calling up French troops from Paris to join him in his invasion of the Netherlands.

Low Countries Theater
The first theater of the war was the Low Countries, where the United Provinces had plundered Spanish homes. The Spanish were driven back to Spain, so the French were alone in their invasion. However, Hostun had faith in his line infantry and Regiments Etrangers, who were experienced and trained. So he laid siege to Brussels, causing the United Provinces, the British, and Hanoverians to declare war; Austria broke their alliance with the Netherlands to save their own hides from the fury of France. The French took Brussels in early 1701 and in later 1701 the French captured Amsterdam, using a quick campaign to bring the Dutch to their knees. With the fall of Amsterdam the central Dutch government was destroyed as the Kandy took Ceylon and the Arawakans took over Dutch Guyana.

The Dutch lined up to resist the French invaders, but this rebellion was crushed in early 1702 by the French army occupying the Netherlands. The French repaired Amsterdam and built magnificent buildings, and when Albert Ketterer's Hanoverian army invaded, the French entrenched themselves in the city.